For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? Romans 8:24.
Our Saviour asks the question, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8), implying that true faith would be almost extinct. It is too true that the spirit of doubt, criticism, and faultfinding is destroying confidence in God's Word and in His work. It is impossible for the carnal mind to understand or appreciate the work of God. All who desire to doubt or cavil will find occasion.... Those who in humility of heart follow the light as it shines upon them will receive clearer light, while those who refuse to obey till they can see all occasion for doubt removed, will be left in darkness.19Manuscript 10, 1883.
God gives us sufficient evidence to enable us to accept the truth understandingly, but He does not propose to remove all occasion for doubt and unbelief. Should He do this, there would no longer be a necessity for the exercise of faith; for we would be able to walk by sight. All who with a teachable spirit study the Word of God may learn therefrom the way of salvation, yet they may not be able to understand every portion of the Sacred Record.... Whatever is clearly established by the Word of God we should accept, without attempting to meet every doubt which Satan may suggest, or with our finite understanding to fathom the counsels of the infinite One, or to criticize the manifestations of His grace or power....
If we seek in humility to learn the will of God as revealed in His Word, and then obey that will as it is made plain to our understanding, we shall become rooted and grounded in the truth. Said Christ: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17)....
Let us draw nearer and nearer to the pure light of Heaven, remembering that divine illumination will increase according to our onward movements, qualifying us to meet new responsibilities and emergencies. The path of the just is progressive, from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory.20The Signs of the Times, June 23, 1887.
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